Chapter 25: LEVEL UP! Level 7
The leveling hit me mid-swing during combat practice, my fist connecting with the training dummy as raw energy flooded my nervous system. The dummy exploded into fragments, but I barely noticed—my vision whited out as the System announced upgrades with fanfare that felt like church bells ringing in my skull.
[LEVEL 7 ACHIEVED! MAJOR MILESTONE REACHED]
[DATABASE MILESTONE: RARE GENE SYNTHESIS UNLOCKED]
[FOURTH ACTIVE GENE SLOT AVAILABLE]
[STATS INCREASED: +10 ALL ATTRIBUTES FROM ACCUMULATED GROWTH]
[BONUS POINTS AVAILABLE: +5 TO ALLOCATE]
My body convulsed as cellular restructuring accelerated beyond anything I'd experienced. Muscles densified, becoming corded steel beneath skin that felt too tight. My bones ached as they reinforced themselves, and my reflexes sharpened until I could track individual dust motes floating through the air.
"Holy hell. This is what evolution feels like when it happens in seconds instead of millennia."
Miranda's voice cut through the system notifications, tight with scientific fascination and personal concern. "Marcus! Talk to me. What's happening?"
I tried to speak, but my enhanced perception was cataloging everything—the micro-expressions on her face revealing worry she tried to hide, the way her breathing had quickened, the slight tremor in her hands as she reached toward me. Enhanced senses showed me a world painted in startling detail.
"I'm evolving," I managed, voice rougher than before. "In real-time. Level seven is... significant."
Miranda's scanner beeped frantically as it tried to catalog the changes. "Your cellular activity is off the charts. Bone density increasing by thirty percent, muscle fiber reorganization, neural pathway optimization. The IDA System is rewriting your biology faster than should be possible."
[STAT ALLOCATION REQUIRED: +5 BONUS POINTS AVAILABLE]
[CURRENT ALLOCATION: +2 INT (SYNTHESIS SUCCESS), +2 WILL (BIOTIC PREPARATION), +1 VIT (SURVIVAL)]
I felt my mind sharpen as the Intelligence boost took effect, pattern recognition abilities expanding until I could see genetic combinations like mathematical equations. The Will increase prepared my nervous system for biotic integration, while enhanced Vitality made my enhanced regeneration even more efficient.
"Four gene slots now. Time to redesign everything."
Dr. Solveli emerged from his lab corner, scanner in hand, practically vibrating with excitement. "Fascinating! The legendary synthesis pathways are activating! You can now merge rare genes into legendary variants!"
The simulation mode displayed new possibilities that made my breath catch. I could see evolutionary trees spreading like constellations, each branch representing power beyond anything I'd imagined.
"Show me the Krogan synthesis," I said.
Solveli's fingers danced across his interface, and a holographic display materialized between us. "Two copies of Krogan Blood Rage plus Turian Endurance equals 'Krogan Warlord's Legacy'—a legendary synthesis that would make you nearly unstoppable in combat."
The specs were incredible: enhanced strength and resilience during combat, regeneration that functioned even while taking damage, and battle fury that enhanced rather than clouded tactical thinking. But there was a problem.
"I don't have Turian Endurance," I said. "Anto's genetics aren't compatible—wrong military background, and the gene drops from combat are too rare to rely on."
Miranda studied the display with calculating eyes. "There might be another option. Garrus Vakarian, currently serving as a C-Sec officer on the Citadel. His genetic profile shows exactly what you need."
My heart stopped. "Garrus. My favorite character from the games. Alive, reachable, and I could gain his friendship gene just by meeting him."
But the implications crashed over me like cold water. Approaching Garrus now, before the Eden Prime mission, before he met Shepard, could butterfly into massive timeline changes. Saren was already investigating Geth activity. If I showed up asking questions about turian genetics...
"Every early contact risks changing things I can't predict. But that legendary gene could be the difference between surviving the Collectors and becoming their latest harvest."
I tested the new loadout possibilities with four active slots. Batarian Four-Eyed Vision for enhanced perception, Varren Alpha Instinct for pack coordination, Turian Marksmanship for accuracy, and Krogan Blood Rage for berserker combat. It was balanced but spread thin across multiple specializations.
"The problem with your current approach," Solveli observed, "is that you're trying to be good at everything instead of excellent at anything. Consider specialized loadouts for different situations."
He projected several build options:
Combat Predator: Krogan Blood Rage, Turian Marksmanship, Batarian Four-Eyes, Varren Alpha Instinct
Tactical Commander: Varren Alpha Instinct, Batarian Four-Eyes, plus two coordination/leadership genes
Stealth Operative: Future stealth genes, enhanced perception, silent movement capabilities
Tech Specialist: Quarian Tech Savant, enhanced processing, hacking abilities, shield management
"Multiple saved loadouts. I can change my entire approach based on the mission."
[NEW SYSTEM FUNCTION: MULTIPLE LOADOUT SAVES]
[MAXIMUM SAVED CONFIGURATIONS: 5]
[CURRENT XP: 500/4000 TO LEVEL 8]
[CREDITS: 28,000 FROM RECENT JOBS]
That evening, I sat in our apartment staring at the simulation mode's projections while Miranda watched with growing concern. The legendary synthesis possibilities stretched before me like paths through a maze where every choice led to power, but also to unpredictable consequences.
"You're thinking about the bigger picture again," Miranda said quietly. "The people you know from your... foreknowledge."
I nodded, unable to hide the weight pressing down on me. "I could gain power by meeting them early. Garrus, Tali, Liara, Wrex. Their friendship genes could transform me into something capable of fighting Reapers head-on."
"But?" she prompted.
"But every early contact risks changing their stories. What if befriending Garrus now prevents him from becoming Archangel? What if I accidentally get Tali killed during her Pilgrimage? What if I rob them of the experiences that make them who they're supposed to be?"
Miranda moved closer, her expression thoughtful. "You're trying to min-max yourself like this is a game with reload saves."
"Isn't it though?" I laughed bitterly. "Level up, get stronger, beat the boss. Except the boss is a race of genocidal machines, and I can't reload if I die. Every choice is permanent, and the consequences ripple outward in ways I can't predict."
She studied my face with those calculating blue eyes that had learned to see past my defenses. "The timeline is already changed, Marcus. Your presence, your actions, the defenses we're building—none of that was supposed to happen. Maybe instead of trying to preserve some theoretical perfect future, you should focus on creating the best possible one from where we are now."
"She's right. I'm so focused on not breaking the timeline that I'm paralyzed by possibility."
I looked at the legendary gene synthesis options, then at Miranda—this woman who'd defected from everything she knew to stand beside me against an incomprehensible threat.
"You're suggesting I stop trying to control the ripples and start creating better ones?"
"I'm suggesting you trust yourself," she said, squeezing my shoulder. "And trust the people you care about to be strong enough to handle changes to their stories."
[RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT: MIRANDA LAWSON - TRUST MILESTONE REACHED]
[FRIENDSHIP BAR: 61% → 73%]
[NEW CONVERSATION OPTIONS UNLOCKED]
I spent the next hour testing loadout combinations, feeling the System adapt to my enhanced capabilities. Four gene slots opened possibilities I'd never imagined—balanced builds, specialized configurations, experimental combinations that might unlock hidden synergies.
But underneath the excitement lay a fundamental choice: play it safe with known quantities, or risk everything for the power to make a real difference when the Collectors came.
The simulation mode showed me potential futures—paths toward biotic mastery, technological supremacy, physical perfection, or balanced adaptation. Each required different genes, different resources, different sacrifices.
"I need to stop thinking like a scared transmigrant trying to avoid consequences and start thinking like someone with the power to create better ones."
Miranda found me still planning at midnight, holographic displays painting our apartment in shifting blues and purples.
"Whatever you decide," she said, settling beside me, "we face the consequences together."
I reached for her hand, feeling the calluses from weapons training and the warmth of someone who'd chosen to trust me despite every reason not to.
Tomorrow, I'd have to decide whether to seek out Garrus Vakarian, whether to risk changing his story for the power his friendship could provide. But tonight, I allowed myself to feel grateful for the allies I'd already found—Miranda, Anto, even the morally questionable Dr. Solveli.
The Collectors were still coming. The timeline was still fragmenting. But I was no longer the terrified man who'd woken up in a Cerberus lab. I was becoming something unprecedented, something that might actually have a chance against the horrors to come.
Level seven was just the beginning.
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